College Sports Chat: Utica’s Therrien leads country with 18 wins

ROCHESTER — Rochester junior goalie Nick Therrien has been a major part of the Utica College men’s hockey team’s success this season.

Therrien, who was recently named to the ECAC West honor roll, has a 18-3-1 record in goal for the 20-4-1 Pioneers. He has a 2.15 goals against average and a .924 save pct.

His 18 wins are a school record and leads the country in NCAA Division III.

In recent action, Therrien had 14 saves in a 6-1 win over Morrisville State and 24 stops in a 7-2 win over Nazareth. He had 34 saves in a 3-2 win over Manhattanville.

The Pioneers are currently ranked third and seventh nationally, and are tied for first in ECAC West with Hobart at 11-3-1.

Rochester’s Casey DeSmith, a sophomore, has a 15-6-4 record for the No. 5 ranked University of New Hampshire men’s hockey team.

DeSmith has a 2.22 GAA and a .925 save pct. UNH is 16-8-4 and plays at Vermont on Friday and Saturday.

Rochester freshman Zach Miller helped the University of Southern Maine indoor track team a third-place finish at the Maine State Indoor Championships.

Miller was second in the 200-meter dash (23.33) and fourth in the 55 (6.68).

Spaulding grad Melissa Doucette, now a sophomore at the University of Bridgeport, has been a key part of the Purple Knights’ gymnastics team, which is undefeated.

In a dual meet win over Penn, she was tied for fourth on vault.

In a win at the four-team Ken Anderson Memorial Invitational, she was second on vault and fourth on floor.

Rochester junior Mark MacGregor and Milton senior Matt Cloutier are members of the Plymouth State University men’s basketball team, which is currently 7-19.

MacGregor has played in all 26 games and is averaging 5.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Cloutier has played in seven games.

Rochester senior guard Deb LaValley has been a key player off the bench for the Southern New Hampshire University women’s basketball team, which is 11-12 overall and 8-11 in the Northeast-10 Conference.

In a 66-54 win over Saint Anselm, LaValley scored eight points off the bench with two 3-pointers, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.

She also had six points in a 70-50 loss to Bentley and five points in a 73-62 setback to Franklin Pierce.

To submit information on a local college athlete, email mwhaley@fosters.com.